U.S. patent application number 13/820135 was filed with the patent office on 2013-08-08 for actuator assembly.
This patent application is currently assigned to Kyungdong Navien Co., Ltd.. The applicant listed for this patent is Ki Seong Lee. Invention is credited to Ki Seong Lee.
Application Number | 20130199318 13/820135 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 45773083 |
Filed Date | 2013-08-08 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130199318 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lee; Ki Seong |
August 8, 2013 |
ACTUATOR ASSEMBLY
Abstract
The present invention relates to an actuator assembly, and
provides an actuator assembly comprising: an upper case; a lower
case; an actuator interposed between the upper and the lower cases;
a cam coupled to the actuator; and a shutter connected to the cam,
in which the cam includes protrusions and recesses, which are
alternately formed at an interval of 90.degree., a hook is provided
of which one end is disposed so as to alternately come into contact
with the protrusions and the recesses according to a rotation of
the cam, the other end is coupled to a spring, a longitudinal
middle protrudes so as to form a touch part, and a hook shaft is
coupled to a portion between the touch part and the other end of
the hook, and a single microswitch is further provided at an upper
side of the cam in order to stop an operation of the actuator in
accordance with contact with the touch part. According to the
present invention, the actuator assembly has a simple structure,
and may be accurately controlled, and may achieve excellent sealing
performance and improvement in durability, and because the actuator
assembly may be controlled using the single microswitch, a
reduction in cost and in fraction defective may be achieved.
Inventors: |
Lee; Ki Seong; (Suwon-si,
KR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Lee; Ki Seong |
Suwon-si |
|
KR |
|
|
Assignee: |
Kyungdong Navien Co., Ltd.
Pyeongtaek-si, Gyeonggi
KR
|
Family ID: |
45773083 |
Appl. No.: |
13/820135 |
Filed: |
March 20, 2011 |
PCT Filed: |
March 20, 2011 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/KR2011/001908 |
371 Date: |
March 21, 2013 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
74/54 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F24F 2013/1473 20130101;
F16H 25/14 20130101; F24F 13/1426 20130101; F16K 1/221 20130101;
F16K 31/041 20130101; F16K 35/02 20130101; Y10T 74/18288
20150115 |
Class at
Publication: |
74/54 |
International
Class: |
F16H 25/14 20060101
F16H025/14 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 3, 2010 |
KR |
10-2010-0086254 |
Claims
1. An actuator assembly comprising: an upper case 100; a lower case
110; an actuator 160 interposed between the upper case 100 and the
lower case 110; a cam 120 coupled to the actuator 160; and a
shutter 2 connected to the cam 120, wherein: the cam 120 includes
protrusions T and recesses G which are alternately formed at a
predetermined angle; a hook 130 is provided of which one end is
disposed so as to alternately come into contact with the
protrusions T and the recesses G according to a rotation of the cam
120, an other end is coupled to a spring 140, a longitudinal middle
of the hook 130 protrudes so as to form a touch part 134, and a
hook shaft 132 is coupled to a portion between the touch part 134
and the other end; and a single microswitch 150 is provided at an
upper side of the cam 120 in order to stop an operation of the
actuator 160 in accordance with contact with the touch part
134.
2. The actuator assembly of claim 1, wherein the actuator 160 is an
AC synchronous motor.
3. The actuator assembly of claim 1, wherein the actuator 160 and
the cam 120 are rotated in only one direction.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to an actuator assembly, and
more particularly, to an actuator assembly which is improved to be
easily controlled and to have a simple structure and excellent
durability by using an AC synchronous motor as an actuator of an
electric damper used in a product relevant to ventilation such as a
ventilation apparatus, a kitchen hood, or a bathroom fan.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] In general, in a ventilation apparatus including an air
conditioning system of a building, a kitchen hood, and a bathroom
fan, an electric damper is installed at a duct in order to supply
an accurate amount of air necessary for ventilating a room.
[0003] In the electric damper, a sealing state needs to be
maintained when the damper is cut off, and the electric damper
needs to be adjusted by a proportional control of a driving motor
when the damper is opened.
[0004] Such electric damper has been typically used by mounting a
B.D.D (back draft damper) but this has a problem in sealing
performance because of the structure which is operated by a self
weight, and therefore a M.D (motorized damper) type electric damper
is mainly used at present.
[0005] The electric damper is classified into an AC type and a DC
type in accordance with an electric power input type of a driving
unit, that is, an actuator for operating the electric damper and is
classified into an ON-OFF type and an automatic reset type in
accordance with a driving type.
[0006] For example, FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an electric
damper of the prior art, and as illustrated, a shutter 2 having a
circular plate shape is installed in an exhaust port frame 1 to be
rotatable by a shaft 3, and a gear and a motor 4 are installed on a
rotating axis of the shaft 3, such that a flow path of the exhaust
port frame 1 is opened and closed while the shutter 2 is rotated by
an operation of the motor 4.
[0007] Further, a soft elastic gasket 7 having a recess 5 and an
elastic portion 6 is coupled to an edge surface of the shutter 2 to
maintain a sealing state.
[0008] Here, the exhaust port frame 1 is merely an example, and may
be various objects such as an air nozzle or the like.
[0009] In recent years, as an example of other electric dampers
having a simple and easily controlled structure, as illustrated in
FIG. 2, a cam 8 and two microswitches 9 tend to be used to limit a
rotation angle of the shutter 2 to a predetermined angle range by
receiving power from the motor 4.
[0010] However, when a DC motor (DC type) is used as the motor 4,
the DC type has an advantage over an AC type in that manipulation
is simple and high torque may be obtained, but because the DC type
needs to be equipped with a converter which converts an AC input
voltage into a DC voltage, the cost is increased, and in the case
of the automatic reset type, because the automatic reset type
determines an OFF state by using spring tension, when the automatic
reset type is used for a long period of time, a problem occurs due
to a change in elasticity of the spring.
[0011] To improve the above problem, an AC synchronous motor may be
used as the motor 4, and in this case, in a damper, that is, a
mechanical configuration of a driving unit to turn on and off the
shutter 2 by 90.degree., an unreasonable load may be applied to
electronic products such as a microswitch 9. Also, the open and
close operations of the shutter 2 may not be accurately performed
because its ON/OFF accuracy deteriorates due to the pressed
microswitch 9, and the above problems cause other problems such as
an increase in load of a blower and deterioration in sealing
performance.
DISCLOSURE
Technical Problem
[0012] The present invention has been made in an effort to
efficiently solve the aforementioned problems of the prior art, and
the object of the present invention is to provide an actuator
assembly having a simple structure, capable of preventing
occurrence of an unreasonable load at the time of driving an
actuator, when an AC synchronous motor is used for an actuator used
in an apparatus which includes an electric damper and requires an
actuating operation; accurately controlling open and close
operations of a shutter by using a cam, a hook, and a spring; and
improving durability.
Technical Solution
[0013] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides
an actuator assembly comprising: an upper case; a lower case; an
actuator interposed between the upper and lower cases; a cam
coupled to the actuator; and a shutter connected to the cam, in
which the cam includes protrusions and recesses, which are
alternately formed at an interval of 90.degree.; a hook is provided
of which one end is disposed so as to alternately come into contact
with the protrusions and the recesses according to a rotation of
the cam, the other end is coupled to a spring, a longitudinal
middle protrudes so as to form a touch part, and a hook shaft is
coupled to a portion between the touch part and the other end of
the hook; and a single microswitch is further provided at an upper
side of the cam in order to stop an operation of the actuator in
accordance with contact with the touch part.
[0014] Here, the actuator may be an AC synchronous motor.
[0015] In addition, the actuator and the cam may be rotated in only
one direction.
Advantageous Effects
[0016] According to the present invention, the actuator assembly
has a simple structure, and may be accurately controlled, and may
achieve excellent sealing performance and improvement in
durability, and because the actuator assembly may be controlled
using the single microswitch, a reduction in cost and in fraction
defective may be achieved.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0017] FIGS. 1 and 2 are exemplary views of an electric damper
according to the prior art.
[0018] FIG. 3 is an exemplary perspective view of an actuator
assembly used in an electric damper according to the present
invention.
[0019] FIGS. 4 and 5 are exemplary views illustrating an example of
an operation of an actuator assembly according to the present
invention.
[0020] FIG. 6 a circuit diagram for explaining an operation of an
actuator according to the present invention.
BEST MODE
[0021] Hereinafter, an exemplary embodiment according to the
present invention will be described in more detail with reference
to the accompanied drawings.
[0022] As illustrated in FIGS. 3 to 5, an actuator assembly
according to the present invention has a simple structure using a
single cam, a single microswitch, and a spring.
[0023] Here, as a preferred embodiment of the actuator assembly
according to the present invention, an actuator assembly which is
used in an electric damper of a ventilation apparatus will be
described, but the present invention is not necessarily limited
thereto, and of course, the actuator assembly may be applicable to
the other apparatuses or products which require an actuating
operation.
[0024] More specifically, the actuator assembly according to the
present invention includes a case that is as a general
configuration, and the case is divided into an upper case 100 and a
lower case 110 that are able to be assembled.
[0025] Further, a cam 120 is formed at one side of the lower case
110, and the cam 120 is connected to a rotating shaft, which is not
illustrated, of a shutter 2 (see FIG. 2) and is configured to open
and close the shutter 2 in accordance with a rotation direction of
the cam 120.
[0026] In this case, the cam 120 includes protrusions T and
recesses G, which are alternately formed at an interval of
90.degree., and serves to control an operation of an actuator 160,
which will be described below.
[0027] Here, the illustrated exemplary embodiment describes that
the angle of the cam 120 is limited to 90.degree., but the present
invention is not limited thereto, and the angle of the cam 120 may
be changed to various angles such as 60.degree., 45.degree., or the
like that is required for an apparatus or a product.
[0028] Moreover, a hook 130, which operates in accordance with a
rotation direction of the cam 120, is installed at one side in a
radial direction of the cam 120 to be rotatable about a hook shaft
132, and in this case, one end of the hook 130 is in contact with
the cam 120, and the other end of the hook 130 is coupled to a
spring 140.
[0029] Here, one end of the hook 130, which is in contact with the
cam 120, has an appearing and disappearing movement while
alternately coming into contact with the protrusions T and the
recesses G in accordance with a rotation of the cam 120, and
accordingly the hook 130 may be rotated about the hook shaft
132.
[0030] In addition, the hook 130 is processed so as to be rounded
in a longitudinal direction along a shape of the cam 120, a touch
part 134 protrudes at the middle of its longitudinal length, and
the hook shaft 132 is disposed between the touch part 134 and the
other end of the hook 130 coupled to the spring 140.
[0031] Meanwhile, a single microswitch 150 is installed inside the
lower case 110, which is placed within a radius of movement of the
touch part 134, in order to reduce a load.
[0032] The microswitch 150 is a type of a limit switch and is
provided to stop an operation of an actuator 160, which will be
described below, includes a switch lever 152 formed of an elastic
member and a switch button 154 switched by pushing and releasing
the switch lever 152 as illustrated, and is configured so that a
selective terminal connection between a common terminal (COM), a
first terminal (NC), and a second terminal (NO) is turned off in
accordance with an operation of the switch button 154.
[0033] A circuit diagram for implementing the above operation of
the microswitch 150 is illustrated in FIG. 6.
[0034] Further, an actuator 160 is installed at a center of the cam
120.
[0035] The actuator 160 uses an AC synchronous motor to control the
connection between the common terminal (COM) and the first and
second terminals (NC and NO) by rotating the cam 120 in a
predetermined direction.
[0036] Here, when an electric voltage is applied by allowing
current to flow between the common terminal (COM) and the first
terminal (NC), a closed state in which the shutter 2 is closed may
be maintained, and when an electric voltage is applied by allowing
current to flow between the common terminal (COM) and the second
terminal (NO), an opened state in which the shutter 2 is opened may
be maintained.
[0037] To this end, the cam 120 is formed to have an illustrated
structure and is operated to change a state of electric power
supply at an interval of 90.degree..
[0038] That is, the actuator 160 is designed to be stopped after
being rotated at an interval of 90.degree..
[0039] The present invention having the above structure has an
operational relationship as described below.
[0040] First, when the shutter 2 is opened and electric power is
applied to the common terminal (COM) and the terminal (NC) in a
state as illustrated in FIG. 4, the actuator 160 is operated by
applying the applied electric power to the actuator 160 as
illustrated in the circuit diagram of FIG. 6, and accordingly, the
shutter 2 is closed as the connected cam 120 rotates in a
counter-clockwise direction.
[0041] During the above process, when the cam 120 rotates by
90.degree., an end of the hook 130 which has been in contact with
an outer surface of the cam 120, that is, a contact end, is
inserted into a lower portion of the cam 120, that is, a cut off
portion, and therefore a tense state is relaxed.
[0042] At this time, the spring 140 pulls the other end of the hook
130.
[0043] Therefore, the hook 130 rotates about the hook shaft 132 in
a clockwise direction, the touch part 134 of the hook 130 pushes
the switch lever 152 during the above clockwise rotation, and the
switch lever 152 presses the switch button 154 so as to cut off the
connection between the common terminal (COM) and the first terminal
(NC), to thereby stop the actuator 160.
[0044] In contrast, when the shutter 2 is opened, if electric power
is applied to the common terminal (COM) and the second terminal
(NO) in a state as illustrated in FIG. 5, the actuator 160 is
operated by applying the applied electric power to the actuator 160
as illustrated in the circuit diagram of FIG. 6, and therefore the
connected cam 120 rotates in a counter clockwise direction and
opens the shutter 2
[0045] At this time, when the cam 120 rotates 90.degree., the cam
120 pushes up the contact end of the hook 130 to cut off the
contact between the touch part 134 and the switch lever 152,
thereby stopping an operation of the actuator 160 by operating the
microswitch 150.
[0046] As such, in the present invention, the cam 120 repeatedly
rotates and stops at an interval of 90.degree. to repeatedly
control the open and close operations of the shutter 2.
[0047] Accordingly, sealing performance is improved since an
accurate angle control is possible when open and close operations
are performed; electric power consumption of a blower may be
reduced because the flow directions are precisely identical in the
shutter's opened state; durability may be improved because of a
simple structure; and reduction in cost may be achieved by reducing
the number of microswitch by one.
REFERENCE NUMBERS LIST
[0048] 100: Upper case
[0049] 110: Lower case
[0050] 120: Cam
[0051] 130: Hook
[0052] 140: Spring
[0053] 150: Microswitch
[0054] 160: Actuator
* * * * *